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New ferries touted during budget presentation

Jan 19, 2011 News

Three days before Christmas the Government signed contracts with the Chinese Government that will pave the way for two brand new ferries to ply the Essequibo routes before the end of 2011.
The two new vessels are being built under a Chinese grant and could be here even earlier. Equipped with roll-on/roll-off features the boats which cost US$14M are similar to the Makouria class vessels and are of the Canaiwaima size.
During the signing, they were described as a “New Year’s gift” by the local Chinese Embassy.
Present at the signing were Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Chinese Ambassador to Guyana, Yu Wenzhe and his Commercial Officer, Huang Shaowen. According to the Ambassador, the vessels could be considered a “Christmas and New Year’s gift to the people of Guyana”.
The 2011 budget speech as read by Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh states, “… to promote a fast and reliable ferry service across the major rivers and outlying areas of the country, the sum of $173 million is budgeted for the modification of the Parika and Supenaam stellings and the construction of the Kumaka wharf. Further, a sum of $366 million is allocated towards the procurement of 2 roll on /roll off vessels, which will complement the other aging vessels.”
According to the 2011 budget estimates, the total project cost is some $3.851B, with the central government providing $2M and the remaining $3.849B being financed by “Foreign Loans/Grants” where the source of foreign financing is stated as “China”, however the amount budgeted for this enterprise only comes to some $366M.
At that signing the Foreign Affairs Minister said that the negotiations have been ongoing for some time now and are part of a long history of cooperation with the Chinese. Other gifts, courtesy of the Chinese Government, include the Skeldon factory and International Convention Centre at Liliendaal.

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